lost in nashville

We didn’t really get lost, although there was the one morning I decided to explore Vanderbilt’s campus on my morning run and ended up…not exactly where the hotel was when I started.  But then, are we ever really lost these days with Siri always ready to provide a map and surly instructions?

Georgie and I are currently watching Lost on Netflix.  If you don’t know about my Netflix problem, just scroll down a few entries and catch up.  If you’re one of the normal people who watched the show when it was on please know that I do not want you to tell me anything about what happens.  And if you’re oblivious like me, Lost is 6 seasons of a series that drops a diverse group of people into a desert island scenario.  A plane crashes on an island in the Pacific and all the survivors band together to stand against some really strange forces already existing on the island.  It’s a very strange ride and we average 2 ½ - 3 episodes each day in our current addiction. 

My good friend Donovan got married in Nashville on July 4.  I was a groomsman in the wedding so last Wednesday Georgie, our good friend Ginger and I drove halfway across Tennessee to attend the festivities.  Another of Donovan’s good friends, Amanda was a groomsmatron or groomsperson.  She’s female and she wore a dress but she stood on the groom’s side, you with me?  So Amanda and her husband Justin joined us in a block of hotel rooms and the five of us made the most of the Nashville trip together. 

We had a big time.  Along the way it occurred to me that our group might do well in a desert island scenario.  We had Georgie the nurse, Ginger the chef, Amanda the magazine editor and possessor of a wide range of knowledge, Justin the writer and philosopher and me, the artist and builder of sculptural traps and shelters.  Not only would we have survived, but it seems we would have laughed and been thoroughly entertained while we were on the island.  (Seriously, what a group:  Ginger Morrow – www.ddinmansc.com, Amanda B Heckert – indianapolismonthly.com/bios/story.aspx?ID=1682777, Justin Heckert – byliner.com/justin-heckert.

For the last several days Nashville was our desert island and here’s a glimpse of how that went:

 I think this is the Clinch River in TN

 The Parthenon was very close to our hotel.  

 The story behind this is pretty interesting but you'll have to Google it.

 The steeple at Woodmont Christian Church, the site of the wedding.

 I'll give Donovan credit for finding a church that actually looks like a church.  This was no warehouse style metal building for sure.

 Live bluegrass band at the rehearsal dinner.

 Post rehearsal dinner Taco Bell run.  Justin gave me the encouragement I needed to try the Doritos tacos for the first time.  They lived up to all the hype.

 The morning of the wedding in the groom's back room.  If you look closely you'll see breakfast and a pile of cash on the table.  Don't ask.  That's Donovan in the beard looking nervous.

 I'll be starting my venture into wedding photography soon.  That's Donovan and Megan doing photos before the big event.

 The desert island crew at the luncheon at the Mad Platter.  L to R, Justin, Amanda, Ginger, Georgie.

 Across the table was Donovan's dad, Donovan, Megan and friends of the bride.

 The reception was held at Carnton Plantation outside of town.  There was an old mansion, a cool garden and the site of a Civil War battle.

 The first dance.  Who knew Donovan could dance?

 Antebellum?  Isn't that a word?

 Several hundred Civil War soldiers rest here.

 The next day we headed to the Frist Center for Visual Arts.  This sculpture made of Humvee parts greeted us.

 The Frist, or "ArtQuest" as we began to call it did not have a permanent collection.  This was a bummer, but the exhibits were nice and the building itself provided some of the aesthetics you expect from an art museum.

 Housed in the old Nashville post office, the building is drowning in Art Deco.  The interior is very ornate.

 Down to the last detail.

 Justin was keen on participating in all the interactive art exhibits.  I think he had a lot of fun lending his artistic voice.

 When we left the Frist someone joked about stalking Jack White at his recording studio.  So we did.  

 The novelties part of his studio was eccentric and very entertaining.  I have no idea who the girl is who photo bombed me.

 Novelties and the Loretta Lynn poster.

 The old photo booth worked and we proved you can fit 5 adults in there.

 Next, Amanda and Justin put us on the trail of Prince's Hot Chicken.  This proved to be one of the high points of the entire trip.  If you are within driving distance to Nashville, you MUST go here before you die.  It was amazing.  I chose "medium" and did not regret it.  Go hotter than that at your own risk.  Half gallons of milk are available next door if you need it.

 Then we hit up the Country Music Hall of Fame because we thought it was a requirement.  While I've never been big on country music, my parents gave me the country music memories I needed to be able to appreciate what I saw.  That's Buck Owens' "American" guitar.  

 In fact, the instruments were the most interesting part of the CMHOF for me.  Maybelle Carter's guitar from the Carter Family.

 Hank Williams' guitar.

 Johnny Cash's guitar!

 A surprising touch was the Thomas Hart Benton painting of "The Birth of Country Music".

 And Taylor Swift's guitar complete with glitter.  Ok Taylor, that's strike one.  Glitter is forbidden.

 After the Hall of Fame I took a quick walk over to Broadway.

 I walked up just a bit past the strip of honky tonks...

 To check out Ernest Tubb's Record Shop.  I found the map to the star's homes but decided we'd done enough stalking already.

 We ended the night at Husk with some tasty food.

 And since eating is one of my superpowers, I was happy we went to the Loveless Cafe for breakfast the next morning.  I was tempted by the BBQ pork omelette, but I decided to create my own awesome breakfast by getting the huge pancakes and a side of BBQ pork.  I piled the pork on top of the pancakes and drenched it all in syrup.  Oh man....it was sooooo good.

Did I mention that it rained the whole trip?  The radar always showed a thick line of green and yellow precipitation flowing right over Nashville.  I hate rain but I will not complain about running at 70 degrees in a light to moderate rain shower each morning.  And since I was expecting it to be 100 degrees and blazing sun for a July wedding, this was an unexpected and welcome spot of weather.

tennessee is lumpy

Lumpy was the distinct impression I got anyway.  There were rocks and rivers and all, but everything was just so lumpy. 

Last Thursday I made the drive to Nashville for my day as a guest at Belmont University.  Right up front I'd like to say that I am aware that Belmont is looking for a 3D faculty member and I was reminded of this several times while on campus, but my visit had nothing to do with this search.  I was invited to speak by the School of Religion, if you can believe that, and to specifically speak about the collision of religion and the arts as it applies to my creative work. 

 An old friend of mine teaches in the School of Religion and he teaches some of the Religion and the Arts classes.  He lives in the house in the photo above where I stayed for the trip.  He invited me to speak to his class and to present a slide lecture at one of their Convo events.  The event was advertised with the poster I showed you recently and with this little blurb written by my friend: 

"Have you ever stepped into a rabbit hole that dropped you face first into a Salvador Dali painting where Billy Graham was eating peaches and talking theology with Donald Miller? Well, it's kind of like that."

Keep in mind that it was in his best interest to make me sound much better than I really am.  But speaking of Billy Graham....

There is a large statue of him in front of the Lifeway building in Nashville.  I think it's related to the proportions but there's something unsettling and awkward about the sculpture. 

Equally odd is the presence of this large scale Greek building from my art history book in the middle of a southern town built on country music.  Who knew Athena loved Johnny Cash?

But this is the wrong state for Athens.  The architecture on the trash cans was more appropriate and I was assured I was in the correct city just in time for a 45 mph tour of the sights.  I saw it all....I just saw it all very fast. 

Yes, that's a blurry photo of the moving car tour and yes that's my finger in the top right corner.  I used to blame all my bad photos on the camera in the 3Gs.  Now that my phone is new and the camera is great....I suppose I'll have to admit that I'm a terrible photographer.  Sorry.

The blurry tour was appropriate for Nashville.  There are tons of celebrities in and around Nashville and it's pretty common to see them in Whole Foods, Starbucks or the Belmont campus for that matter, but it's one of the prides of Nashvillians to act like such sightings are no big deal.  It really is a big deal but it's not cool to act like it's a big deal.  It's also not cool to go to the touristy places.  I learned it's a bragging point to tell how long you've lived in Nashville and have never even gone to those areas.  I understand all this but I'm just enough of an idiot to not care. 

And enough of an idiot to seek out what my sources say is where Taylor Swift lives when she's in town.  And if those sources are correct, that's what you're looking at in the photo above.  I know, you're thinking, "Really Doug, Taylor Swift?".

And the answer to that question is simply, yes.  I am not ashamed.  Deal with it.  In this country...and especially in this town if you can make it big by writing your own songs, playing several instruments to create your own music, and by singing those songs well, then you have my respect.  You know what we call those people who criticize talented people like this?  We call them Sandy Singletary....or we call them jealous.  -Don't worry, Sandy doesn't read the blog.

So on 2/24/2012 for a whole 2 hour span, I got to be a little bit famous.  Ok not really famous, but I did get a personalized parking spot on a campus where parking is a pretty big deal.  I'll take it.

I spoke about beauty and absurdity and how those two elements swirl together in my drawings and sculptures.  If you wanted to go and couldn't, just imagine me standing there at the podium and it looked just like that.  Here's the Cliff's Notes version for you:  The Monty Python guys were skilled at using absurd humor as a tool to get viewers to laugh, to think, and to be more creative in their problem solving.  Beauty is more than the aesthetic value of the surface (or of Katie Holmes) and is quite often tied to personal experiences instead.  Add in some Sharpies and some welded steel and you get my drawings and sculptures.

The photo of the new building on Belmont's campus is for my students.  I thought they might want to see how plywood was bent and cut to make the half sphere of the dome.  Very helpful now that the plywood project is over, right?

 The bell tower/water tower/prayer chapel.  An interesting combination that is almost Python-esque.

No one is allowed to leave Nashville without having some sort of musical experience, so after all the official academic work was done we were invited to join a lovely family at a music dive called The Station Inn.  It's a bluegrass venue and we got to see Blue Moon Rising play a great set of music after working all day recording on Music Row.  They fired and rehired the new banjo player, cracked everyone up several times and played some great music.  It was an excellent way to end the trip.

Lumpy with smokestacks and clouds.